5 Reasons eBooks Will Continue to Grow

There will always be a place in our hearts for traditional paper books. But as people learn about the advantages that eBooks bring to the table, this new format will continue to see steady sales growth in the future. As the Internet grows and technology advances, people have come to expect being able to obtain digital versions of books.

“We believe that people should publish in as many formats as possible,” explains Bob Young, the chief executive officer of Lulu (www.lulu.com), an open publishing company. “People have a preferred format when it comes to how they read books, and you want to be there, offering that format, so your book is not automatically excluded.”

With eBook sales growing each year, with no signs of slowing down, many people are becoming curious about the benefits of eBooks. Here are 5 reasons that eBooks will continue to grow more popular in the future:

Storage. A bookshelf can usually only hold a small number of books, and most people don’t have big home libraries. By contrast, e-readers and computers can store many more books in much less space, allowing people to maintain a larger personal library.

Convenience. When it comes to buying books, as well as carrying them around, digital ones are very convenient. The e-reader is compact and lightweight, making it possible for people to take hundreds or thousands of books with them, no matter where they go. It also provides a convenient buying experience, as eBooks can usually be purchased through any Internet or WiFi connection.

Tech savvy. While past generations hold onto the idea of print books because it is what they know, the next generation is growing up with eBooks. They will be used to them and comfortable using this new format, further increasing its popularity.

Savings. Purchasing eBooks is usually cheaper. Several factors lead to this, including it being cheaper to produce and store them, and the absence of shipping fees for eBooks.

Capabilities. There are things that can be done with eBooks that cannot be done with traditional print books, include doing searches, taking electronic notes, having a built-in dictionary, and quoting passages that can later easily be accessed.

“We have people who love both traditional print books and eBooks,” adds Young. “Fortunately it doesn’t have to be a ‘one or the other’ kind of thing. Sometimes, people own the book in both formats, or sometimes they prefer to own a particular book in one format or the other.”

Lulu’s open publishing format offers eBook publishing services, as well as print publishing. Authors can publish everything from books and photo books, to calendars and cookbooks. The service is provided free, and authors retain all rights, as well as a portion of all profits from sales. To learn more about using Lulu’s publishing tools, log onto www.lulu.com.